I am a current junior, 3.9 unweighted 4.1 weighted (after this year hopefully will be around 4.3). I have always loved big cities but I hate the heat. Because of this, I was wondering what are good/decent colleges in urban cities in the north. Although I would like to go to a college as prestigious as Harvard, there is now way I could get in. So I was wondering what are pretty prestigious (but no amazing Harvard level) colleges in big cities anywhere in the north (don’t care if it’s in the west/Midwest/east so long as it is in the north).
GPA? Test scores? What can you afford? State of residence?
You can buy the shirt online. What do you want to major in? No school is “amazing” across all majors.
3.9 unweighted, current 4.1 weighted (hoping to raise it to a 4.3 by the end of this year), 31 ACT, I currently live in Portland, OR, can afford most colleges because my parents are both doctors. I have pretty common ects, I play water polo and do ski team, play the cello, volunteer at a dog shelter, looking to purse a science (probably chemistry) major with a minor in business
Do you prefer larger schools or smaller schools?
When you say urban, do you specifically mean schools that are right in the middle of a city? Or would a suburban school 10-20 minutes away from a large city by public transportation be urban enough for you?
Northeastern, Boston University, Georgetown, American, GW, UPenn, Macalaster, NYU, Johns Hopkins, UChicago to name a few of varying degrees of selectivity.
UMich, Reed (your backyard),
If you really want to go north consider McGill University and University of Toronto. City center locations in amazing cities.
Tufts, Brandeis, Holy Cross, Union College, University of Pittsburgh, Villanova, CWRU. There are dozens of great schools in or near NE/mid-Atlantic urban centers.
If you can, pick a few and fly over for a visit.
@lalalemma I prefer a larger school in directly in the city but I don’t mind a suburb of the city like northwestern to Chicago
Is the Mid-Atlantic region too far south? Consider George Washington U and Georgetown. DC is a fun city in which to be a student.
Keep in mind if you are pre-med that medical schools aren’t very prestige conscious. It’s all about grades and MCATs, so pick a place that feels comfortable rather than one that will stretch you to the utmost academically. Being ‘average’ at a top ‘prestige’ school is not better than being in the top of the class elsewhere if med school is your goal.
Try the SuperMatch on CC.
Some ideas offhand in/near large cities…
Chicago - UChicago, Northwestern.
NY - Barnard (if female), NYU, Fordham
Phila - Haverford, Villanova
Boston - BU, BC, Tufts, Brandeis
DC - Georgetown, GW, American,
Baltimore - Johns Hopkins, Loyola MD
I suggest you get your hands on some college guide books (ex. Fiske, Insiders guide, Princeton Review) and start reading. Your guidance department may have them, your library may have them, a local bookstore would have them. Think about other attributes (other than prestige and being in a northern city) you want – for example do you want large/small/mid-sized, religious/secular, in a city or are suburbs OK, any major you especially want, are big time sports important to you, do you want Greek life etc. Also if you haven’t already, have the “money” talk with your parents.
Marquette.
Many good options already mentioned. I’d add University of Washington at Seattle. I think Northeastern, BU, and NYU sound the most like what you’re looking for (though definitely have the money talk - BU and NYU are notoriously bad with aid).
For some safeties, look at Drexel, Temple, and Pace.
I would add Macalester and UMinnesota Twin Cities.
You could most definitely get into Harvard with a 31 and a 3.9. They need to have someone in the bottom 25%! Don’t sell yourself short. I’m not saying you will get in. I’m just saying that college admissions works in weird ways.
Well, weird but not unpredictable.
Bottom 25% admits to Harvard have a strong hook - a compelling reason for their scores/course choices and something that makes them “important to admit” (first gen, legacy, developmental, athlete + a handful of “unique talent we need”). The “weird” part is that you don’t know what quirk, experience, or skill will be unique and needed that year. But having something unique and needed is a pre-requisite. As per the OP, that’s not the case here.
Key element: what’s your parents’ budget? If you don’t know already, work together on EFC (use estimates if this year’s income will vary wildly from last year’s), then NPCs - run NPCs on EACH of your top colleges and safeties.
Make sure you have 2 safeties.
Check out the schools in Pittsburgh: Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, Dusquesne… Great city with a good number of schools in or near it.